Sinker-head structure for knitting machines



Aprll 30, 1957 W, E SHEELER 2,790,313

sINKER-HEAD STRUCTURE FOR RNITTING MACHINES x Filed Feb. 1o. 1955 /2 2/ ./7 PLE- -l- /7 /5 za /0 INVENTO BYWlliam .She r Ai'ToRNEY nited States Patent O "ice SvINKER-HEAD STRUCTURE FOR KNITTNG MACHINES William E. Sheeler, Wyomissing, Pa., assignor, by VI nesue assignments, to Textile Machine Works, Wyomissmg, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 10, 1953, Serial No. 336,097

7 Claims. (Cl. V66-98) The present invention relates to the sinker-head structure of full-fashioned knitting machines and more particularly to the needle beard pressing sur-tace of such sinker-head structure. The instant applica-tion is a continuation-in-part with respect to all common subject matter of my co-pending application Serial No. 242,446,

tiled August 18, 1951, now abandoned.

As is well known, 4the full-fashioned type of `knitting machine employs spring bearded needles which contact a presser edge portion of a sinker-head during the down or beard closing stroke in the knit-ting cycle of each course. The beards of the needles, being relatively harder than the presser edge and having only point Contact therewith during the lbeard closing action, cause considerable wear in the presser edge, wearing or" the presser edge and of the needle beards as well being increased by the1 failure Yto secure adequate lubrication under the high 'unit :pressures involved. inthe lower or coarser gauge machines this wear, due to the larger dimensions of the parts, was considered as inccnsequential. However, -as vthe gauge of the machines tends to be higher or liner, fthe `wear in the presser edge caused by the smaller ldimenlsions of the needle beards, as well as the wear of the needle beards, becomes more noticeable, and in lmachines above titty-'one gauge, it is deinitelya problem.

It is accordingly an object of the present inventionlto provide a full-fashioned knitting machine with `a L'needle Vbeard pressing edge having a greater resistance to wear.

It is a further object ofthe invention -to .provide`a--full- Vfashioned knitting machine with a `presser edge having Aincreased surface Contact -w-i-th `the beards of:the needles during the'beard closing action or" Vthe needles whereby wear--isrreduced due both to the-greater areaof contact and to the lcwer unit pressure whichzpermitslubrication of the contacting surfaces.

As the gauge of the machines increases or becomes linerv the distance between 'the adjacent sinkers .and dividers decreases and the needle dimensionsY also decrease. Therefore, as these dimensions decrease, the kbeard of 'the needle becomes more eXi-ble with a lconsequentltendency to be dellected ou-t of its normal path along the presser edge at the time of the beard closing-action. "Ac- 'tuallythe beard is deected to such an extent that iteugages an adjacent sinker or-divider and continued deflec- -tioncauses increased wear particularly at the edges ofthe walls forming ythe Aslots for the sinkers -and dividers. Further, continued `deliection of the needle beards not only causes damaging wear to the presser edge "and .sinkerand divider slots but results in considerable'beard 'breakagewhen the deilected beards' catch on-thefknockover bits as 'the'needles move downwardly.

It is therefore another object -of the invention to..pro Vide the sinker-head of a full-fashioned knitting: ma chine with a presser edge adapted to maintain theneedle beards against deflection during the beard closingiaction.

yWith these and other objects in view, which `will become apparent from the followingdetailed `description `nf the illustrative embodiment oftheinvention-sliownn the accompanying drawings, my invention resides ,in the novel elements, features of construction and arrangement of parts in cooperative relationship as hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a sinker-headV of a full-V fashioned knitting machine having sinkers and dividers assembled therein and knitting needles between the sinkers and dividers;

Fig'. 2 is a front elevation of the sinker-head shown in Figure 1 Vtogether with a needle bar and needles therein for cooperation with the siuker-head;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially Aon the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 and showing the parts `on a much larger scale and in different positions relative to Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion offFig. 1 on a scale still much larger than that of Fig. 3 and with the parts in position of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a greatly enlarged horizontal sectional view -taken through a needle beard illustrating its `contact with the presser edge; and

i Fig. 6 is a view "similar to Fig. 5 illustrating the `condition of the presser edge after a wearing in period.

In 4the drawings and description, only the means nec- -essary to va complete understanding `of the invention :are 'specifically set forth; further information ras Yto the icon- .struction and operation of other related, .usual and well lknown knitting machine elements, mechanisms, tetc., may be found in 'one or vmore :of the following Apublications of the Textile Machine Works, Reading, Pa.:`

The Reading lFull-Fashioned KnittingtMachine Parts Catalog, published in 1940, the supplement thereto entitled The Reading High yProduction Full-'Fashioned .'KnittingLMachine, :published in 1940, and The"tReading -FullFashioned Knitting Machine Parts Catalog published -in 1947.

YReferring to the drawings morezin detail, asinker-head for a common'type of full-fashioned knitting :machine is-shown at'10. Sinker-head 10 comprises labasemember lor bottom 12 and a cap member'ortop 14 held together `by tbolts such as 16 and 17. Bottom 12 lhas apertured ears 13-by'which it may be-bolted to lthefinachine frame,

vwhile `top 14 khas the usual verge platerIS securedthereto -by screws or thelike, the verge platelserving-lto limit and cushion themovements of the lsinkers at .the 'endsvofftheir yarn .drawing strokes. .The bottom -12is also*provided with `bearings 11 for pivotally supporting ,a bed26 for usualknocking overbits-27 (Figs. 2 and 3f). 'Members 12 and 14 are both slotted transversely oftheirlengthwise dimension and arranged sortheslots of one member are in thesame vertical planes as thosein the other ymember when the sinker-head is in its usual horizontal Yposition. Said slots inthe bottom 12 are designated as 18 and .those in the top 14, as '19. Slots I8 and '19 lare.occ|;1pied .by lalternately arranged sinkers 20 and .dividers y21. AAsap- -pearsin Figure l, the backs'of the sinkers20 arethickened'by-reinforcing-members so that jacks (not'showri) can-better* deliver operative impulses thereto'while the ifdividers 121are provided with the usual Jremforcingtail iportionswhich act to guide thevjacks andkeep themgin alignment with their respective sinkers.

The sinker-head 10 is so mounted that thefsinkers20 `and dividers 21 reciprocate horizontally'in planesintermediate needles 22 which are'mountedzin a needlebar .25 which is so mounted and .operated that the needles remain generally vertical througout'their knitting cycles.Y

The sinkers and dividers operatewhile the needles 5.22 are at orf near the upperend: of theirstrokeito; sinkfand divide yarn to form loops around the-"Shanks of the l"needles, the loops being caughtunder beardsfloftthe lneedleson' their downstroke. YThe needle beards 23am pressed or closed on their downstroke to carry the newly formed loops downwardly through the previously formed loops which are supported on the knockover bits 27.111 the usual manner. In -a full-fashioned knitting machine the needle beards 23 are closed by operating the needles to press the beards against a front edgerportion 30 of the sinker-head bottom as shown in Fig. 3 to force the tip of the beard of the needle within an eye orrecess 32 in the needle.

During the beard pressing action of the needles 22, particularly in the iiner gauge machines, the beards, being very imsy in structure, are detiected out of their normal vertical paths and in many instances such deflection is suicientto cause the beards to engage the sides of adjacent sinkers and dividers. Continued deection of the needle beards causes the beards toV wear grooves in the presser edge thereby damaging the presser edge to such an extent'that the beards cannot follow any but the deflected path. Also, where the beards are deflected against the'. sinkers or dividers, they veryv soon cause wear at the corner edges'of the walls forming the slots 18 thereby additionallyV damaging the base 172 of the Ysinker-head 10; Y i VOne Vfactor contributing to excessive wear of the presser edge and also to the needle beards, particularly at -theinitial stages of operation, isthe failure to secure adequate lubrication under the pressures present when -the needle beards have only point or line contact with the presser edge. For example, it has been determined that such pressuresV are of the order of sixteen hundred pounds or more per Vsquare inch when the needle beards, as is true at that time, have an area of contact with the presser edge only of the order of 0.0005 `to 0.001 inch in width. Under such heavy unit pressures the lubricating oils asconventionally used are either squeezed out of the areas of contact or for some other reason fail to perform their normal lubricating functions.

In accordance with the instant invention the above noted diiiculties are overcome by providing means located preferably centrally between the slots 18 to control the position of the needle beards and to substantially increase their area of contact with the presser edge 'whereby thetendency of the beards to detlect is overcome Vand the pressure per square inch on the needle ybeard, and presser edge is reduced to a point where Yadequate lubrication is obtained. The means provided for these ,purposes comprises grooves 38 extending vertically ofthe presser edge and located intermediate the slots 1Sfor the sinkers and dividers as shown in Figs. 4, `5 and 6. Grooves 38 are originally ofKV-shape in horizontal cross-section and are formed by a milling Vor similar machining operation. It has been determined that the angular relationship of the sides of the grooves as well as the depths of the grooves may vary within reasonable limits but should be such that the side walls of the grooves are in tangential relationship to the needle v.beard and extend at a relatively wide angle to one another. Preferably an angle ,of the order of 135 is emfrployed, Thus for line gauge machines, such for example as 60-gauge machines, employing needles having beards approximating 0.0077 inch in diameter, it has -been found that superior results are obtained by milling the grooves vtoa. depth of the order of 0.001 to 0.0015 inch with the sides of the groove extending at said angle of 135 to each other.

Referring specitically to Figs. 5 and 6, theformer Y shows on a greatly enlarged scale, the manner inY which the needle beard is received within a groove of the type described above. As will be readily apparentLthe area of contact between the needle beard and the groove has been doubled ascompared to the conventional construction. Also, the groove exerts va holdingraction on the needle beard to resist any tendency of .the beard to dre- ,ect in either direction from its ideal position centrally of the space between the adjacent sinker and divider.

Furthermore, as the place of contact of the needle beard against the presser edge is delinitely xed, wearing away of the presser edge, which inevitably occurs, will cause the area of contact to gradually increase until the ideal condition disclosed in Fig. 6 is achieved. As illustrated at this time the grooves have arcuate bottom portions of a radius of curvature substantially equal to that of the needle beards and entrance portions delined by what remains, if any, of the original inclined side walls. After this point, wear will be reduced to a Vminimum as a substantial area of contact is then present. Even in the initial stage as illustrated in Fig. 5 and in the intermediate stages, lubrication will be greatly improved due to the great reduction of unit pressure between the needle beard and the walls of the groove.

While the transition from the relationship between the needle beard and the presser edge shown in Fig. 5 to that of Fig. 6 may take place during the normal operation of the machine, the grooves 38 may, if desired, be shaped to the conguration shown in Fig. 6 before the sinkerp A head is installed in the knitting machine. A suitable way of performing this operation is to install the sinker heads having grooves as shown in Fig. 5 in a special machine having needle bars carrying conventional needles and including means for operating the needle bars through the normal cycle of needle beard closing movements but at a greatly accelerated rate whereby the grooves are rapidly worn or abraded to the condition shown in Fig. 6. Thereafter the sinker-heads are installed in the knitting machines in which they are to be used. The use of suitable breaking-in oils to promote wear is particularly applicable to such operation but as will be recognized they also may be employed until the desired condition is reached in the case where the sinker-heads having the grooves illustrated in Fig. 5 are installed directly on the knitting machine.

Of course, the improvements specifically shown and described by which the above results are obtained can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the invention herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination of a sinker-head comprising a base member having slots therein, sinkers and dividers in said slots, bearded needles between said slots and a stationary presser edge defined by the front face of the base member, and grooves in said presser edge extending substantially centrally between said slots and spaced therefrom to-receive the beards of the needles and to hold them from contacting the sinkers and dividers.

2. A sinker-head for a full-fashioned knitting machine having sinkers, dividers and bearded needles, said sinkerhead comprising a base member having slots therein to receive the sinkers and dividers, a stationary needle beard presser edge defined by the front face of the base member, and vertical grooves in said presser edge extending substantially centrally between and spaced from the slots to receive the beards of the needles and prevent deflection thereof.

3. A sinker-head for a full-fashioned knitting machine having sinkers, dividers and bearded needles, said sinkerhead comprising a base member having slots therein to receive the sinkers and dividers, a stationary needle beard presser edge defined by the front face of the base member, and vertical grooves in said presser edge extending substantially centrally between and spaced from the slots to receive the beards of the needles, said grooves being of curved crossed-section With a radius of curvature substantially the same as that of the needle beards.

4. A sinker-head for a full-fashioned knitting machine having sinkers, dividers and bearded needles, said sinkerrltead comprising a base member having slots therein to receive the sinkers and dividers, a needle beard presser edge defined by the front face of the base member, and vertical grooves in and extending for the entire height of said presser edge substantially centrally between and spaced from the slots to receive the needle beards, said grooves being of an initial V-shape in cross section with their side walls tangent to the needle beards when in contact therewith.

5. A sinker-head for a full-fashioned knitting machine having sinkers, dividers and bearded needles, said sinker-head comprising a base member having slots therein to receive the sinkers and dividers, a needle beard presser edge defined by the front face of the base member, and vertical grooves in said presser edge substantially centrally between and spaced from the slots to receive the needle beards, said grooves being of an initial V- shape in cross-section with the side walls of the grooves lying at an angle of the order of 135 to each other and said side walls lying in tangential relationship to the needle beards when in contact therewith.

6. A sinker-head for a full-fashioned knitting machine having sinkers, dividers and bearded needles, said sinkerhead comprising a base member having slots therein to receive the sinkers and dividers, a needle beard presser edge defined by the front face of the base member, and vertical grooves in said presser edge substantially centrally between and spaced from the slots to receive the needle Y 6 beards, said grooves being of initial V-shape in crosssection and of the order of 0.001 to 0.0015 inch in depth with their side walls lying at an angle of the order of to each other and with said side walls lying in tangential relationship to said needle beards when in contact therewith.

7, A sinker-head for a full-fashioned knitting machine having sinkers, dividers and bearded needles, said sinkerhead comprising a base member having slots therein to receive the sinkers and dividers, a needle beard presser edge defined by the front face of the base member, and vertical grooves in said presser edge extending substantially centrally between and spaced from the slots to receive the needle beards, said grooves having an arcuate bottom portion of a radius of curvature substantially equal to that of the needle beards.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,398,821 Wilcomb Nov. 29, 1921 2,271,852 Brumbach Feb. 3, 1942 2,593,041 Lynam et al Apr. 15, 1952 2,672,035* Slattery Mar. 16, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 468,128 Great Britain June 29, 1937 522,201 Great Britain June 12, 1940 

